i'm frank mallicoat. >> your realtime captioner: linda marie macdonald good afternoon, everybody. i'm frank mallicoat. after the most expensive campaign in history, it all comes down to today. voters will decide between, of course, barack obama, the president, and republican challenger mitt romney. everything coming down to the last minute including the former governor's decision to campaign today. we have live team coverage and

it all starts with randall pinkston in boston. >> reporter: they are putting the finishing touches on the stage where mitt romney and his running mate paul ryan hope tonight or tomorrow morning to take that podium and declare victory. earlier today, mitt romney and ryan made a joint appearance in ohio meeting with workers and campaign supporters there. what may be one of their last joint appearances of the campaign. mitt romney and his wife voted in belmont, massachusetts. then they kissed each other good-bye. >> i feel great about ohio. >> reporter: romney headed to a last-minute campaign rally in cleveland where his running mate paul ryan joined him. ryan vote for himself twice today in the swing state of wisconsin where he is also running for re-election to congress. later today he will be in pittsburgh, pennsylvania, a state his advisors now say is up for grabs. >> in the last few weeks we have seen pennsylvania the polls there tighten and it

becomes a tremendous opportunity. >> reporter: romney and his team hope the enthusiasm surrounding his campaign leads to a big turnout at the polls. i'm randall pinkston, in boston. >> reporter: i'm bigad shaban in chicago. president obama visited with supporters here in his hometown this morning and will also play a traditional game of basketball with friends. the president called campaign volunteers this morning thanking them for their hard work. >> karen, this is barack obama. >> reporter: and he encouraged everyone to vote. >> we feel confident we have the votes to win. >> reporter: vice president joe biden voted this morning in his home state of delaware. and then he also made a last- minute campaign stop in ohio. both sides know it all comes down to who is better at getting their supporters out in battleground states. more than a third of americans

voted early weeks in advance. this is the day the votes will be counted. i'm bigad shaban in chicago. back to you. >> thank you. voters are not just electing the president and the congress today. they are deciding thousands of issues for their cities and states, as well. maine, maryland and washington will decide if same-sex marriage should be legal. minnesota voters will decide if it should be outlawed all together in their state constitution. voters in washington, oregon and colorado may decide to legalize marijuana today. here in california, no issue has drawn more cash or controversy than proposition 30. that ballot question would raise taxes to prevent education budget cuts and cbs 5 reporter cate caugiran joins us with more on this costly battle. >> reporter: listen to these numbers. yes on 30 campaign raised about $69 million and the no on 30 has raised about $53 million. as you mentioned, the idea behind proposition 30 is to raise taxes to prevent these education cuts but those against it say the big price

tag comes with a big risk. >> the big issue, the big question is, what is the capacity of america to invest through its collective institution called our government? >> reporter: even on the way to vote governor brown took the time to stump for proposition 30. he is optimistic. >> i have a sense that people are ready to invest in their future, which was the kids of california, a balanced budget going forward. >> reporter: the problem for those against prop 30 is not about support for california schools. the tough sell is asking californians to tax themselves. prop 30 would increase the sales tax by a quarter cent and raise income tax rates on people making more than $250,000 a year. >> the notion of taking a quarter of a cent sales tax and asking those who are in the top 1% to help us out in our time of need, i think that's a proposition that speaks for itself.

>> reporter: but opponents say it's not that simple. they say passing prop 30 is committing economic suicide for california. >> all that does is perpetuate our broken system. it doesn't fix the schools or higher education. it just pours more money into the broken system. >> reporter: would this tax money truly go to schools? >> it does not guarantee any money for the schools. it just goes to sacramento politicians to spend on anything they want. we'll never know where the money goes. >> reporter: now, if proposition 30 does not pass, it would mean $6 billion in education cuts would immediately go into effect and that could translate to three weeks less school for students. but this point right now, it's in the hands of the volters. live in oakland, back to you. >> thank you, cate caugiran live for us over in oakland. there was a small show of support for prop 34 outside san quentin in marin county this morning. the measure would repeal california's death penalty. instead, the maximum punishment would be life in prison without parole. supporters say the legal

procedures for capital punishment ha become too costly. other issues are prop 36 that would measure -- would revise california's "three strikes" law to impose a life sentence only when the third felony conviction is for a serious and violent crime. the district attorneys of san francisco and l.a. both support that measure. and prop 37 has to do with the foods you eat. it would require companies to put special labels on raw or processed foods that are made from genetically altered plants or animals. supporters say consumers have a right to know but opponents predict an explosion of frivolous lawsuits. there is a close buy watched local item over in richmond. a proposed tax on soda. if measure n passes businesses with have to pay a penny per ounce of soda. it would be the first of its kind tax in the nation and soft drink makers have spent $2.5 million to defeat it. lines at polling places

across the state may be smaller today than in years past. more than half california residents will vote by mail-in ballot. that was the case in santa clara county this morning where voters started early this morning dropping off the mail- in ballots before the polls opened up. they came by foot, they came by car, and even bike. >> i went to my work to avoid the people so right now i'm here, nobody here. it's easy. >> for most people we talked to the chance to drove often the ballot before crowds was a big factor in choosing to vote early. >> the republican challenging dianne feinstein's senate seat voted in person in danville just a couple of hours ago. she was joined by her husband and son alex. alex was diagnosed with autism 16 years ago. and he voted today for the

first time. she plans to await the results in orange county. polls put feinstein ahead 54- 35%. inn that race. of course, we're only just getting on this election day at noon. stay with us for updated results. special live coverage begins at 4:00 and we'll be streaming right to the web at cbssf.com. so you'll be in the know. when we come back, she has been helping californians cast their votes for decades now. meet a san francisco woman who remembers work the polls when eisenhower was running for president. >> hi i'm meteorologist lawrence karnow in the cbs 5 weather center. temperatures soaring to possible record levels again today but a major cooldown is in the works too. we'll talk about that coming up. ,,,,,,,,,, ,,,,,,

about long experience. but n there's a bay area woman whs worked every presidential election since 1952. some poll workers can talk about long experience then there's a bay area woman who worked every presidential election since 1952. cbs 5 reporter elissa harrington is here in san francisco where today that woman is getting some much deserved recognition. >> reporter: at 1:30, secretary of state debra bowen will honor elisa kennedy, 96 years old. this is her garage which is a polling place. and she is taking a well deserved break right now. that's you're not seeing her. but she is the longest running poll worker in the state. >> wh... >> reporter: every election 96- year-old elisa kennedy invites voters into the garage of her san francisco home. it's an official polling place

complete with 5 booths where people can cast their votes. >> very rewarding, shall i say, meeting people in public -- public people. and getting to know all my neighbors. >> reporter: elisa is the longest serving poll worker in the state going on 63 years. today, she is being honored by secretary of state debra bowen for her dedication. >> absolutely amazing. absolutely amazing. my goodness. she remembers the election of truman? my goodness! that's way before i was even born. >> reporter: elisa has been doing this since 1949. her first election was in 1952. eisenhower versus stevenson. >> the busiest one. >> jfk. >> reporter: she says back in 2008, about 160 people came through her garage to vote. this year's numbers have already surpassed that although -- >> most of them are voting absentee, voting by mail. >> reporter: including elisa

herself. a far cry from when she first started voting behind big curtains and levered voting machines. >> if you made a mistake, all you had to do was pull up the lever and re-vote. here it's a lot of difference. >> reporter: looking ahead to the presidential election of 2016, elisa says she does want to be part of that. she will be 10 0 years old. in san francisco, elissa harrington, cbs 5. >> god bless her. if they always voted in her garage -- have they always voted in her garage, elissa? >> reporter: she filled out one of the mail-in votes because she knew she was going to be very busy today. >> she is busy. she has been busy for years. okay, elissa harrington live in san francisco, thank you. >> residents. storm damage northeast we'll never forget. thousands are still without power many without a place to live but even in the most devastated areas they are overcoming all obstacles to get out and vote. alison harmelin is in the rockaways section of queens.

>> reporter: crowds have been streaming into these tents all morning to cast their votes. people roaming through devastated neighborhoods to find this makeshift polling place. >> they don't have internet, they don't have tv, they don't have radio -- a lot of them don't have radio so there are not aware this is set up. >> i wanted to vote and it's too involved not to find out where to vote and get out there. >> reporter: election officials brought in generators to power these polling tents in the rockaways in queens, new york. a week after hurricane sandy, the neighborhood is still flooded and still without power. even with all of the chaos, the system here in the tents seems to be working. but with only the generators for power, it's cold and the lights are dim. >> it's because there's a lowlight in here because of the tents and there's not enough light at the little booths here. >> reporter: in nearby breezy point, more than 100 homes burned to the ground during the storm. the city is sending buses to pick up voters and bring them to the polls. >> it's good to vote because it will make a difference, you know, and the way things are right now, it's good to vote.

>> reporter: to make sure all new yorkers get to the polls, the state is allowing displaced people to vote at any polling site they can reach. >> we want everyone to vote. just because you are displaced doesn't mean you should be disenfranchised. >> reporter: for many voting has never been as big a challenge but she is storm battered neighborhoods are determined to make it work and bring some normalcy back to life. alison harmelin for cbs news, rockaways, queens. >> in new jersey, election officials scrambled to relocate the polls but in instances where voters can't get there the state is allowing them now to email or fax in their ballots. whatever it takes to get out the vote. and i guess we have no excuse not to vote today because you delivered a beautiful day. >> it's going to be hard to drag people off the beach. >> no kidding. >> or out at a picnic today. it's gorgeous outside all around the bay area. enjoy it things going to be changing rapidly now as we head into the next couple of days. but a little hazy sunshine out over the bay. we are looking good as we sail into the afternoon.

lots of sunshine for everyone even out toward the coastline and these temperatures again heating up in a hurry. it's 78 degrees in san jose already. 78 in livermore. 74 degrees in san francisco. and 74 degrees in concord. looking toward the coastline, still clear of fog. that will likely change though toward tomorrow. so sunshine, near record temperatures maybe a couple of records out there, and then tonight mostly clear in the valleys but looks like some patchy coastal fog will begin to develop and major changes the next couple of days. so high pressure holding on for one last day. you can already see this trough in the gulf of alaska. eventually that works its way in our direction but at least one more day of sunshine and maybe a couple of records, as well. if we hit that we could hit a couple of spots especially looking toward redwood city and san jose. we are forecasting highs of 81 degrees in both those cities. if that happens, those will be records. probably not going to see a whole lot of records like yesterday but still, it will be close enough and it will be a nice day all and the bay area. overnight tonight, the sea breeeze kicks in and that means that will carry with it some

low clouds and fog at 1 a.m. some of that starting to gathering an long the north bay coast and inside the bay in the morning. it will be entirely different tomorrow. with that sea breeeze temperatures will be cooler around the bay area. today highs 80 in santa clara and 75 degrees in pacifica. east bay temperatures running up in the 80s as well in many spots. maybe as high as 84 degrees in pleasanton. about 81 in the napa valley. and about 81 in benicia. as you make your way inside the bay we'll find some sunshine, still, and those temperatures above normal 79 in oakland, not a record in san francisco. but still very pleasant. 77 degrees there. about 80 degrees in santa rosa. next couple of days, that ridge of high pressure starting to break down much cooler weather for tomorrow with a returning of some low clouds and fog. and can you believe this? a chance of rain moving in on thursday and on friday. this will be a cold system. there's a chance we could see a dusting of snow on our mountain peaks. so yeah, from one extreme to another. looks like this next weekend should be nice though lots of

sunshine, temperatures warming up through sunday. >> did you say snow? >> i know! can you believe it? here we are 80 degrees outside right now in spots but we could see some snow on our mountaintops the next couple of days. >> we're going to put your chair down. miss griego was sitting here earlier. [ laughter ] >> thank you. still ahead, is there a sinusitis superbug? why doctors say it may be better just to suffer through all the sniveling and sneezing. when we come back. ,,,,,,,,,,,,

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a new development in the eay detection of alzheimer's disease. in today's healthwatch, a new development in the early detection of alzheimer's disease. researchers have tested people in their 20s who could inherit the illness and found changes in their brains and their spinal fluids. now there is hope for developing a test that can predict the onset of the illness in the general population. early treatment is considered crucial for alzheimer's patients. over 25 million people in the united states suffer from chronic sinus infections and although the traditional treatment is to prescribe antibiotics, health officials say we could be creating a suturer sinus bug resistant to the drugs. we have more. >> reporter: a doctor is working to develop a nasal swab test to identify the type of sinus infection a patient has because it's information doctors really need. in most cases, patients suffer

from periodic sinus congestion and pain. but when sinusitis is caused by a bacteria, the side effects can be devastating. >> the bacteria can rapidly spread back to your brain or to your eyes and cause serious complications. >> reporter: traditional treatment has always been antibiotics. now doctors are being urged to cut down on antibiotic prescriptions because according to infectious disease society of america, about 90% of all sinus infections are viral which cannot be treated by antibiotics. in fact, the medication actually rids the sinuses of healthy bacteria and strengthens the dangerous bacteria creating a super sinusitis bug that can be treated by any medication. -- that can't be treated by any medication. >> the big problem in society is that doctors don't know which patients are going to have viral infections that are going to resolve or which ones have bacterial infections. >> reporter: by knowing whether the cause is viral or bacterial, the doctor says

doctors will be able to prescribe the right medication in serious cases without creating a resistance to antibiotics in sinusitis. >> that was susan hendricks reporting. we'll be right back. much more. stay with us. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

finally.. it's not just adus casting ballots today.. today for tonys table we are going to focus on a beautiful vegetable from long island, cauliflower. we are going to make a simple easy dish. it's rigatoni pasta with

cauliflower and tomatoes. olive oil, garlic, chicken stock. we sauteed the garlic, with the olive oil. we added some tomatoes, then we added the cauliflower sauteing that for a minute and a half and that's it then added chicken stock and let it absorb the flavor. once it starts to soften up we add the pasta that's already cooked. of course, it's rigatoni so i love the size of it. the flavor of it and everything. we'll put it all inside there. let this cook all together just for a little while. all the flavors marry. then you serve. and to top this off we're going to add, look at that that looks healthy, to top this off we are going to add some bread crumbs to give it flavor and absorb some of the moisture from the stock and the pasta water. that's it. simple to make. loaded with flavor with beautiful cauliflower. i'm tony tantillo. back to you guys. down in san mateo kids are

learning early. students at saint gregory school voted this morning. it just wrapped up so it's too soon to tell who they picked to be the president. the decision is expected sometime tomorrow. that's our "cool school" this week. they had a little town meeting yesterday, as well. we are going to feature that on tomorrow's program. >> and they are learning about the process today. >> it's great. >> who is going to be living here come january? >> that's the big question. we'll find out tonight. our coverage begins at 4:00 and cbssf.com. captions by: caption colorado comments@captioncolorado.com